Evans‘ll not escape justice, says govt

The Lagos State Government yesterday assured that no effort would be spared in ensuring logical conclusion of the cases filed in court against kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans.

Evans, who was arrested last year at his Magodo, Lagos mansion, is being prosecuted by the State Government alongside others for masterminding and executing series of high profile kidnappings and murder in the state.

Speaking at the yearly ministerial news conference at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, restated the government’s commitment to ensure the logical conclusion of all pending court cases and serve justice to the people.

The commissioner said: “On the Evans’ matter, the cases filed against him are ongoing in court. The issue is that the lawyer representing him is trying to play some games to delay the matter but in all his games, we have been defeating him in court.

“We have filed different cases. Some are for kidnapping and some are on murder and his lawyer is fighting all the cases but what I can assure the people is that we are committed to ensure the matter is concluded and defeat him at the end of the day.”

On other high profile cases, Kazeem said the Synagogue Church case on the collapsed building which killed people was progressing well, adding that a ‘no case’ submission filed by the accused persons instead of defending the case was recently dismissed by the court, while the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo (a.k.a Reverend King), who is presently on death roll imposed by the court would have his fate determined in due course.

Reeling out activities of the agencies under hi ministry in the last one year, the Attorney-General said the government received and treated a total number of 11,451 cases through the Special Task Force Against Land Grabbers, Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) and the Special Offences (Mobile) Court in the last one year.

He said the government also received 316 inquiries through the recently unveiled first state-owned DNA and Forensic Centre with 71 active cases currently ongoing bordering on homicide, rape, toxicology, child trafficking, and serology, among others.

According to Kazeem, the Anti-Land Grabbers Task Force designed by the present administration to fight the menace of forceful take-over of properties received 1,300 petitions out of which 855 were concluded and 530 currently at various stages of resolution.

“In the period under review, over 35 arrests of suspected notorious land grabbers were effected while 26 criminal prosecution cases against suspected land grabbers are presently ongoing,” the attorney-general said.

Besides, he said in a bid to enhance due diligence in property transaction, the state introduced the Real Estate Electronic Litigation Database designed for the provision of access to information primarily on properties which are subject of litigation, adding that since its launch, the portal has recorded over 1,000,000 hits and over 10,000 consistent users from Nigeria, United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa, among others.

He recalled that since its inception, the DSVRT had galvanised strategic action and responded appropriately to formal and informal reporting of incidents of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect and maltreatment in the State through the active support of the Governor and other partners.

“The ministry has noted an increase in report of domestic abuse against men. To date, the DSVRT has received a total number of 131 cases in this regard. Overall, a total number of 1,771 cases were reported during the period under review. The team also provided free medical services and psycho-social therapy for over 700 survivors of domestic/sexual violence, conducted capacity building trainings with 220 police officers across the state, and successfully secured the conviction of seven perpetrators,” he said.